Steps

Raw Edges

Aug 2017

NOW Gallery commissioned Raw Edges to design seating for outside the gallery and Peninsula Square to redefine how people use that public space. Working with Mass Concrete, they created concrete seating which will be part of the Square for the foreseeable future, creating a place where people can sit, rest and enjoy a visita through to Peninsula Gardens and beyond.

Raw Edges are usually known for incorporating vibrant colour in their work but decided to work with white and a green. The seating stands out like blocks of snow on the grey concrete piazza between the Gallery and O2, whilst the green ones blend into the gardens. The units are like building blocks which resemble large mints creating a comforting place for two people to squeeze into a seat together or for one to lounge in a concrete space that almost moulds around the body.

‘Steps’ are tactile, smooth, and in their simplicity the perfect antidote to generic, utilitarian furniture. They make people stop, lean, perch and experiment, pausing in this new sculptural space on Peninsula.

Raw Edges on their inspiration for the project

“When walking in the nature we can take a break comfortably and sit on a rock or a log, a cut tree trunk or simply on a grassy mound. In the city as well, we can find relaxing spots that were not designed to become seats like stairs, pavements’ edge or low brick walls. We looked into this behaviour; this hunter’s eye that looks for the ideal resting position, like a student during a lunch break, a group of builders having coffee on site or bunch of pupils sitting on the pavement, and came up with this small urban landscape that is made from a clutter of concrete units. Each unit is like a scaled up domestic armchair, and when arranged together with their different heights, ‘these armchairs’ create an urban texture that invites people to step on, and relax.”

“Greenwich Peninsula is committed to commissioning work by designers who have the vision to reinvent the public realm and engage the public in a playful, innovative way.” Jemima Burrill